BROADSHEET - OUR WOODLANDS ARE FOR TREES - THEMAGAZINEFORBROADLANDTREEWARDENS ISSUE191-AUGUST2020 - BRUNDALL PARISH COUNCIL
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Broadsheet The Magazine for Broadland Tree Wardens Issue 191 – August 2020 Our Woodlands are for Trees 0
Our Woodlands are for Trees
Broadsheet … not for Leisure Parks
The Monthly Magazine for
Broadland Tree Wardens
Q
UITE a few years ago now Center Parcs began acquiring
Issue 186 – March 2020 large areas of forest and woodland to turn them into
holiday villages. It was seen as a lovely idea by many,
although the more cynical among us feared that the mix of
holiday-makers and precious trees would result in increased
Inside this issue environmental loss.
Our Woodlands are for Trees … not for Following the “success” of messed up to the extent that Homo sapiens has
Leisure Parks - Editorial 1 joined the list of extinct species (a list that he
Center Parcs (and other similar
RIP Old Friend – An Obituary 4 mainly created) what will still be here?
businesses), there has been a The buildings we created will decay but
Brussels Thwarts Efforts to Halt
growing trend for more such trees will continue to grow. Woodland and
Spread of Xylella fastidiosa 5
centres to be created. forests will form again. If you question that then
How Oaks Evolved 6 For many years caravan parks have been just consider how they survived and evolved
Western Link Bat Survey Suspended 9 created among trees but now the trend appears following the end of the dinosaurs, the last Ice
to be for holiday “pods” where people enjoy Age … and not forgetting Noah’s flood.
Environment Secretary’s Speech
being squeezed in like peas! No, we don’t need these awful things. The
at COP26 10
Of course, it’s not just the pods (are they a sooner we stop creating them the better. Our
How to Avoid Lyme Disease 11 Woodlands are for Trees, not for Leisure Parks.
modern version of the cells … er … chalets that
Quarter of UK’s Mammals are Billy Butlin earned so much from?). No. One
Officially “Under Threat” EGRETFULLY, it’s not only
R
11 has to also consider the ancillary facilities that
World’s First Re-Wilding Centre 12 such things require … and they are extensive. the leisure industry that
These awful monstrosities appear to be
Council Needs Tree Wardens 12 threatens our trees and
popping up wherever you go. Basically,
Forest Research Looks at Tree Health 13 wherever there are trees. woodlands.
TPO for Stevenage Woodland 13 Of course, the developers of such sites You may remember that last summer,
make very “convincing” cases for obtaining the Norwich City Council’s planning committee
HS2’s Catalogue of Errors 14 rejected the Norwich School’s plans to build a
necessary permission for them. They will
A Brief History of British Woodlands 15 encourage an appreciation of our precious new dining room, kitchen block and teaching
Older Trees are not Immortal 16 environment. They will provide a place of peace facilities at its Bishop’s Palace Lawn site at
and tranquility. Norwich Cathedral, despite planning officers
Police Target Off-Road Vehicles 16 recommending the application be approved.
Yes, but the first thing the developers do is
OPM Now in Suffolk 17 remove half of the trees to make room for their The decision hinged on 12 trees which
Dr Jo’s Corner 18 pods or caravans and ancillary buildings. They would be felled, including a 35-metre London
don’t really give a damn about the environment plane, which is estimated to be between 150
Current Works to Trees Subject to a but simply wish to make as much money as they and 200 years old and is protected by a Tree
Tree Preservation Order and Section possibly can. Preservation Order.
211 Notifications for Works to Trees Now, this isn’t your Co-ordinator having a Those 12 trees would still be felled, but the
Within Conservation Areas 19 go at planners. Having worked in a County new proposal includes more soft landscaping
Planning Department for six years I know only and tree planting within the site, the school
too well how difficult it is to deal with such says. It includes 21 replacement and new
applications. trees within the application site, including two
No. I blame society. What are we doing to large ones, 62 new trees in the immediate
change these views? What are we doing to Cathedral precinct and within City Centre
This Month’s Cover Picture change what is acceptable and, more Conservation Area and 688 trees and 130
importantly, what is unacceptable? Believe me, young saplings which had already been
One of my favourite trees. The Braydeston
if young footballer Marcus Rashford can change proposed off-site.
Hills Oak on Braydeston Hills in Brundall. A
the mind of our Prime minister and his Documents submitted as part of the
peaceful, natural setting for a magnificent
government then all we have to do is stand up application say they have explored keeping or
oak.
and be counted!! relocating the London plane, but neither option
We have to change society’s attitude was feasible.
towards trees, woodland and forests. We So am I to draw the conclusion that they will
simply cannot continue to abuse them in the only consider planting trees if they are able to
way we are. So come on. Let’s do something get rid of those that they consider to be “in the
Broadsheet is written and published by about it. way”, one of which may be 200 years old?
John Fleetwood, Yes, I’m sure that people will justify the I urge Norwich City Council to reject this
Broadland Tree Warden Network Co-ordinator creation of such centres by claiming that it will application as originally the applicant wished to
4 Oakhill, Brundall, NR13 5AQ. help business and our economy but do we remove 12 tress and under this revised
Home: 01603 716297 Mobile: 07555 535741 believe that is why they are making the application they still wish to remove 12 trees.
E-mail john.fleetwood@hotmail.com What’s changed?
investment? No, of course we don’t!!
It is circulated free of charge to Broadland As much as I don’t like it, I have learned that
I
Tree Wardens parish and town councils, I must accept the fact that so much of our WAS so pleased to learn that
parish meetings and other interested parties. precious land is to be put under bricks and many local authorities, parks and
mortar for housing. There is a national need for
Any views expressed are not necessarily houses … although I don’t believe we are
visitor attractions have now
those of the Broadland Tree Warden Network. building the right type of housing. banned the use of disposable
All copyrights are acknowledged.
However, holiday centres are only used for BBQ’s following my comments in
a limited time each year and are not really last month’s Broadsheet.
“essential” Well, surely I can be excused for believing it
There is one indisputable fact in all of this. was because of my comments????
Something that nobody can argue against. Anyway, the next stage is to do something
At the end of the day, when man has about the morons who see no problem in lighting
1
a BBQ in a dry woodland and then compounding increase of 25% compared to the same period local and national charities, there is now a
their stupidity by carelessly leaving the thing, still in 2019. robust way of working that will involve consult-
alight, where they used it. The figures came at a time when the ation to avoid indiscriminate felling of healthy
Brazilian government is receiving harsh criticism trees. We are waking up to a climate crisis. We
UROPE’S appalling attitude from the international community for its alleged need more trees, now, and we need to retain the
E toward tress and conserv-
ation was highlighted last
month when it was revealed that
lack of commitment in combating the destruction
of the Amazon.
Early in July, Vice President Hamilton
Mourao led a meeting with a group of
international investors, who publicly expressed
ones we have wherever it’s safe to do so.
“This is not the end of the story, we know
that tensions still exist. The real measure of
success will be achieving the vision for a
greener, more collaborative Sheffield. The
there has been a large increase in
their disagreement with the country’s outcome of the Sheffield saga has far reaching
the number of trees felled and
environmental policy. The official stated that consequences and that was always one of the
removed from European forests. investors had demanded environmental policies driving forces for residents taking action, chang-
Satellite images suggest that the forest area that produced results, and he promised a ing the system alongside their own battle. I
harvested each year between 2016 and 2018 stronger effort from the government in reducing would also like to recognise Liz Ballard CEO of
was 49% than the area harvested each year high rates of deforestation. the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust in
between 2011 and 2015. Deforestation in the region has soared since particular, for establishing and leading such an
Grégory Duveiller at the European President Jair Bolsonaro took office last year, innovative approach to collaboration to get us
Commission Joint Research Centre in Italy and according to conservation groups. He has here.
his colleagues analysed satellite data that argued that more farming and mining in “Sheffield was the start of a debate that has
measured the amount of forest cover and area protected areas of the forest were the only way led to serious reform: the England Tree
of trees cut between 2004 and 2018 across 26 to lift the region out of poverty. Strategy, manifesto pledges to consult on tree
European Union countries. Bolsonaro’s environmental policies have felling, commitments to increase canopy cover,
The satellite imagery came from the Global been widely condemned but he has rejected the a £10million fund for urban trees, with more to
Forest Change database, which includes all criticism, saying Brazil remains an example for come.
vegetation greater than five metres high. conservation. “This week is also going to be important for
The team combined the satellite data with street trees as conservative backbencher Chris
estimates of forest biomass to quantify the Clarkson MP is bringing a ‘street tree bill’ for its
HEFFIELD City Council’s
amount of wood harvested. “From above, you
see forest and non-forest,” says Duveiller. “You
don’t see how tall the [harvested] trees are.”
According to the researchers’ estimates,
between 2016 and 2018, the annual levels of
S announcement on the halting
of healthy tree felling is a
well-earned victory for democracy
second reading, aligned to the manifesto pledge
for trees on all new streets.
“If the Government has a tree strategy, and
will require councils to have a tree strategy, this
and the residents of Sheffield who one is the exemplar for how they should be
harvested forest biomass were 69% higher than developed in partnership with all stakeholders,
in the preceding five years. fought so hard and at personal cost
including protesters and campaigners who can
A rise in tree removal was particularly to protect their city’s trees. be a force for good. That will be Sheffield’s
marked in Sweden and Finland, which It cost a city more than 5,000 of its trees, but positive legacy.”
accounted for more than half of the total an agreement announced by Sheffield City Clive Anderson, barrister, broadcaster and
observed increase in harvested area. These Council means there is finally the prospect of president of the Woodland Trust, said: “How
countries have historically large forestry-related meaningful reconciliation after eight years of good to hear that the long running saga of
industries and also have areas of forest used for tension over the mass felling of healthy street Sheffield and its street trees may yet have a
fuel production that have reached harvest trees, that led to public outcry, a government happy ending after all.
maturity, says Duveiller. investigation and dozens of arrests. “We need all the trees we can get, and all
Another possible explanation for the surge You will have read a series of articles in the mature street trees we can hang on to. Well
in harvesting is an increase in demand for wood- Broadsheet reporting the half of Sheffield’s done to the people of Sheffield and the
based products. “There are several drivers that street trees were marked for felling under campaign groups who have taken to the street
are possible but a causal connection is difficult Streets Ahead, a controversial £2.2 billion road trees and spoken out and campaigned on their
to prove and quantify,” says Duveiller. maintenance programme between Sheffield behalf. Your voices have been heard. And well
“We cannot really jump to conclusions Council and its contractor AMEY. Thousands of done to Sheffield Council for listening, at last. I
directly about implications for greenhouse mature trees will now be saved as a result, hope the people and the local authorities in
gases right now,” says Duveiller, because including 20 healthy First World War memorial other cities and towns up and down the country
forests in Europe are also expanding. It is trees on Western Road and 120 year old have listened and learned as well.”
currently difficult to quantify the rate of that Chelsea Road Elm. Let us not forget that people were
growth to determine whether it offsets the losses The dawn fellings and opposition of city imprisoned for objecting to that felling.
from harvesting, he says. residents attracted criticism of the council and Broadsheet trusts that they will be given a
If the harvesting continues at similar rates, its contractor Amey from conservationists, complete pardon … and maybe compensation?
the team suggests that in order to reach climate celebrities and politicians including then
neutrality by 2050, additional emissions Environment Secretary Michael Gove who
F
IVE grey squirrels were found
reductions in other areas would be needed to accused Sheffield City Council of "environ-
compensate for the carbon losses from forests. mental vandalism" and promised to do "anything dead by dog walker in
required" to end its controversial tree-felling woodland near Carnforth in
DON’T know why I continue to programme.
I
Lancashire as calls are made for
It is therefore quite remarkable to see that
be surprised and alarmed at ban on culling.
from 15 July the city now has one of the most
news that Brazil’s deforestation robust and transparent approaches for street
The Lancashire Post reported that a dog
walker made the grisly discovery alongside
of the Amazon is not only continu- tree management, and one the Woodland Trust,
some traps nearby whilst out walking in Hyning
ing, but is actually increasing. among others, is hoping other councils will look
Scout Wood in Warton on 1 July.
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon to follow.
The Woodland Trust, which manages
rainforest hit a monthly record of 1,034.4km² in The progress was reached by all sides
Hyning Scout Wood, said its grey squirrel
June, the Brazilian government reported. negotiating over seven months. Led by Sheffield
management was conducted by external
The National Institute for Space Research and Rotherham Wildlife Trust; representatives
independent contractors and is part of a wider
(INPE) at the Ministry of Science, Technology of STAG (Sheffield Tree Action Groups) the
project to recolonise the area with red squirrels,
and Innovation revealed in a report early in July Woodland Trust and various subject experts
but it apologised for any distress caused to
that deforestation in June was 10.6% higher took part in a programme of workshops to reach
visitors and is now investigating the circum-
than in the same month of 2019 and 24.31% an agreement with Sheffield City Council and its
stances.
higher than May this year. contractor Amey.
Natalia Doran from Urban Squirrels, a
According to the report, the world’s largest Joseph Coles, urban lead of the Woodland
licensed grey squirrel rescue and advocacy
rainforest witnessed 2,248 fires in June, the Trust who sat on the panel drawing up the new
group, said that she was opposed to the culling
highest level for the month of June in 13 years. plan for Sheffield, said “This is a well-earned
of grey squirrels, and points out that the native
Additionally, areas totalling 3,069.57 km² were victory for democracy, and the residents of
red squirrels are not an endangered species.
deforested in the first half of the year, an Sheffield who fought so hard and at personal
She said: "Opponents of culls point out that
cost to protect their city’s trees. With the help of
2
red squirrels are not an endangered species, will be grossly unfair to those whose requests point of view, where tree cover has been
their demise in the UK is due to a number of were denied. chipped away over time,” he said.
factors, the main of which is habitat destruction. As a result I’m afraid that I have to ask you “The woods have the ability to be a home
"Grey squirrels, though an introduced to confirm your requirements by the end of this and important sanctuary to much more wildlife
species, are far more adaptable than their red month at the very latest. I can then send the than they currently support if they are looked
cousins, and can therefore cope much better requirements to Jamie Henry and he can, in after in the right way, making sure we are doing
with the conditions of deforestation that exist in turn, place the orders with the nursery. our bit in Sussex to combat the global ecological
this country today. So should we kill grey One thing that you won’t like is the fact that, crisis.
squirrels, who have simply won the game of the after having arranged your requirements for the “It’s in desperate need of this project to
survival of the fittest and continue to artificially last couple of years, I will not be able to satisfy stimulate conservation work and raise the profile
maintain red squirrels (themselves products of last minute requests or amendments. So, of this area. Its importance as a corridor
recent introductions from Scandinavia), simply please give this adequate consideration and the between these amazing landscapes will be
because we think that the reds are cuter? exercise will be successful. hugely beneficial.
"Why not let nature take its course and I thank you in advance for your co- “We aim to inspire landowners and
choose the right animal? Grey squirrels do operation. communities by the nature that is on their
enjoy a rather ambivalent reputation in this doorstep. By interacting with it responsibly,
country. Some people adore the intelligent agile people will have learned new skills and
I
T was most disappointing to read
creatures and are endlessly entertained by their understood the importance of making space for
on the BBC News website that
antics, others resent their non-native status, but nature.”
whatever your opinion of grey squirrels might the world famous, 1,000 year old The Woodland Trust says the area is now
be, you are unlikely to appreciate the sight of an Major Oak in Sherwood Forest has dominated by agriculture. Remaining woods
impromptu morgue in a popular beauty spot." been damaged by “tree climbers”. are often small and in poor condition, battered
Animal protection enthusiasts are therefore The tree, reputedly used as a hideout by by a combination of disease, invasive species,
calling on the Woodland Trust to stop the cruel Robin Hood, has had a three-foot-long section and poor management which fails to prioritise
culling of grey squirrels. of bark broken off by people climbing it. the ecological benefits of forests.
"All the more so because it is a pointless The Major Oak has been fenced off since So the project focuses on increasing the
process anyway. The ultimate in digging holes the 1970s to protect it. size of these fragmented sites and eventually
and filling them up again. Research shows that The RSPB said the damage was "heart- reconnecting them so wildlife can thrive and
grey squirrel population re-establishes itself in a breaking... especially at a time when nature had move throughout Sussex. Rangers also plan to
matter of weeks, through breeding as well as been providing solace during lockdown". painstakingly record every ancient, veteran, and
migration." Fibreglass used to protect the tree's hollow notable tree in the area.
A spokesperson for the Woodland Trust trunk was also damaged, the charity said. Sussex Wildlife Trust chief executive Tor
said: “We do have management of grey Gemma Howarth, site manager at Lawrence said the project will be valuable in
squirrels on going at Hyning Scout Wood, Sherwood, said: "The Major Oak is a massively terms of the impact on the environment and
undertaken by external independent con- important part of our national heritage both in human health.
tractors, in the woodland as part of a large terms of our natural world and the Robin Hood “A strong Sussex network of healthy
landscape scale project within the Arnside and legend which brings so many people to woodlands is vital going forwards and we are
Silverdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Sherwood from around the world. thrilled to be part of such an innovative project
a project started in 2015 to encourage the "The vast majority of people who visit the connecting our woodlands and bringing people
spread and re-colonisation of our native red area want to come and see the Major Oak." to their local woodlands,” she said.
squirrels into the concentration of ancient I know what I would do to the morons that “”The importance of woodlands and trees
woodlands within the Arnside area. damaged this tree … but I dare not print it here!! has never had so much recognition, from wildlife
"This project aims to extend the range of the value, their role in flood reduction, carbon
red squirrels from South Cumbria which has sequestration and physical and mental
been lost or much reduced with the expansion wellbeing.”
of the grey squirrel population. The project has been kick-started with a
“We set strict guidelines as to how and when £347,000 National Lottery grant. It plans to
this management takes place which includes apply for another £1.9 million at a later date.
removing carcasses and are investigating Action in Rural Sussex and the Small
whether the recent management of squirrels at Woods Association are also partners in the
Hyning Scout by the contractors has fallen project.
below these standards. If it has, we will be taking
action. We apologise for any harm or distress
F
INALLY this month I want to
this may have caused visitors to our woodland.
remind you that I shall be
“Woodland Trust policies are predominantly
aimed at mitigating against the impact of the conducting an “inaugural
grey squirrel, rather than complete eradication. training” session for new Tree
"In red squirrel areas we work with local Warden and existing ones who
projects and people as well larger groups such
wish to have a refresher.
as Red Squirrels Northern England and the UK
The training will be at 19:30 on Tuesday 4
Squirrel Accord.”
August. The training will be delivered via
You all know my opinion on this appalling
Microsoft Teams which is very similar to Zoon
situation where Homo sapiens believes that he
but doesn’t carry the probative subscription
R
(or she in many cases) has the right to decide ANGERS have launched a rates.
which species can live and which should be mammoth project to restore Yes, I know you can have Zoom sessions
exterminated. What right can we possibly have
to kill creatures that are here because of our a threatened area of “lost” free of charge, but they only last for 40 minutes.
Sussex woods the size of the Isle of Therefore I have opted for Microsoft Teams and
past arrogant mistakes?
have set up a Broadland Tree Warden Network
Wight. team.
W
HILST the response to my The Woodland Trust says a 400 km² area of I suggest that you all register with the Team
requests for your tree woods stretching from Pulborough to Lewes is as soon as possible at
in poor condition after decades of felling. So its https://teams.microsoft.com/join/xf0enry1zaj2
planting requirements was Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs because all future training and our AGM will be
nothing short of outstanding, project aims to restore these forests to their held using this medium. Just follow the
several of you simply asked me to former glory by encouraging landowners to instructions. It’s ever so simple. Indeed, even
reserve a sum for you. improve the condition of the woods and create Crootie managed to do it on his coal powered
That was fine as it allowed me to confirm to new habitat. compoota.
Broadland District Council that we would indeed The project aims to ensure that everyone in
spend the entire £5,000. However, I received Sussex has access to woods, said project Have a great August
more requests than I was able to accept and manager Ed Goodall. “This is very much an
area that has been forgotten from an ecological John Fleetwood
therefore any money that is not eventually spent
3
RIP Dear Old Friend
An obituary written by John Fleetwood
F
RIDAY 24 July 2020 saw the passing of a much loved old friend of mine. One that will be
sadly missed. It was a very sad day and many of my fellow Brundall residents shared my
grief but, as in so many cases, perhaps the release from the slow decay of old age was a
blessing and we can remember our old friend in the proud, vigorous glory we had become
accustomed to and, indeed, had grown to love so much.
My dear old friend had several
names over the years. Perhaps the
most well-known was the “Old
Beams Robinia” or the “Lavender
House Robinia”
In those final decaying months though, the
tree didn’t really have a name as the
establishment outside which it stood struggled
to get going.
Yes. That’s right. My dear old friend was a
tree but not just any old tree. It was a real
Brundall landmark and there is absolutely
nothing wrong with feeling the loss of a
wonderful old friend.
That building that the Robinia adorned
dates from the seventeenth century and has
retained its thatched roof and old world
character. It was, as far back as the early
seventeen hundreds, Braydeston “White
Horse”, the village pub. It actually stood in the
parish of Braydeston which has now been
absorbed into Brundall.
Many people passed the tree nearly every
day but many failed to notice one of the oldest
trees in the village sitting on the right hand side
of the building. Yes it was a withered thing, not until 1801 when Brundall had just 39 residents. departed friend started life I ask you to picture
that big and therefore probably not that old. Oh No figures are available for Braydeston until Brundall. Rural England. No A47 in those days.
how wrong can you be! 1811 when they counted 108. That makes a MacDonalds were a warring bunch of people
That wonderful Robinia pseudoacacia (also total population of just 147 compared with the wearing skirts the other side of Hadrian’s Wall.
known as false acacia or locust tree) was 270 latest available figure of 6,153 in December A thatched pub serving a small village along
years old. Now we have several older trees than 2019!! a muddy track. We can take the average house-
that in Brundall. Indeed, as I look out of my The Robinia is native of the Appalachian hold as being a mother, father and three
office window while I write this I can see a truly Mountains in North America, although it has surviving children at that time. The children
magnificent pedunculate oak Quercus robur that since run wild from southern Canada to were too young to visit the pub and, of course,
is 350 years old and is one of several such trees California. British colonists at Jamestown women didn’t go there either. That leaves just
that mark the old parish boundary between discovered the species in 1607 and it was 20% of the population, 29 men, who may have
Brundall and Braydeston. introduced into Britain in 1636. been customers at the White Horse,
Robinia is like yew Taxus spp when it comes It enjoyed a brief period of popularity but Braydeston, as it was at the time.
to estimating the age, often being considerably was then forgotten until about 1820 when Of those 29 men, some would never
older than they appear. However, an eminent William Cobbett began importing saplings from frequent such a place so let’s say that the pub
botanist from Kew Garden visited the Old the USA, proclaiming that the timber would had, at most, 20 customers.
Beams restaurant some years ago and was become more popular than oak. Although there So, a traditional pub, log fire, tankards of the
really taken with the Robinia. It was he who was an immediate response and Cobbett sold local brew and, at most, 20 customers, the
aged the tree for us and who am I to argue with over a million trees, the popularity was short- greater majority of whom probably never
him? lived. travelled more than ten miles from Brundall or
So the tree started life back in around 1750, The wood is particularly strong, resistant to Braydeston in their whole lives … and someone
during the reign of George II. Henry Pelham rot and very heavy and was originally imported plants this North American tree outside! Why?
was Prime Minister and it was a few years after to Britain for ship-building. It is brown, well- It’s totally inexplicable!!
the Jacobites were destroyed by Cumberland at grained and lasts longer than oak when used as Of course, we shall never know the true
Culloden. The composer J S Bach died in 1750 a fence post. answer to that and perhaps that is why history is
and it was 26 years before the American Robinia often appears in poetry because so fascinating. You can get most of the facts but
Declaration of Independence. nightingales liked to sing from Robinia trees and every now and again you have to use your
I wonder just how many of those events, it is thought that nightingales nested in them imagination. Perhaps it’s a bit like people
which today we class as important historical because the thorns protected them from their planting the dreaded leylandii today.
dates, really mad any difference to the people of enemies. Could it be that the nightingale that Several years ago when writing a collection
Brundall at that time. How long did it take for the sang in Berkeley Square in the famous song of leaflets about the trees in Brundall (a
news to actually reach them? was sitting in a Robinia? collection that was subsequently published by
The population of Brundall and Braydeston Returning to the time when my dear old, the Brundall Local History Group as a book
in 1750 is not known as the first census was not
4
entitled “trees of Brundall and Braydeston and of a century? Would it be 500,000? A million That’s why this silly old man will be
the Stories Surrounding Them” available from maybe? attempting to have some kind of memorial
all good booksellers … or the library of you can’t On the morning of Friday 24 July 2020 when erected to the remaining stump of the tree.
afford a fiver!) I wrote the following about my the chainsaws started and the Robinia’s reign Maybe “a wonderful ancient Robinia once stood
dear departed friend. was ended, my ‘phone hardly stopped ringing here”.
“ … perhaps we should begin to consider with local people wishing to know why it was Perhaps people should realise that veteran
what it would be like to lose it. I believe it will being removed. trees are greatly valued by some of us and we
have a great effect on the character of the One of the callers, the chair of the local are greatly concerned when they are removed.
building should it disappear. When it eventually history group shared my feelings and suggested How sensible and caring it would be, therefore,
goes, will a replacement be panted? Can it be that it would have been appropriate for the if several days’ prior notice was given to the
replaced? How do you suddenly replace a owners to have given the village some community when such tragic events take place.
quarter of a century of village history. How advanced warning of the event. Maybe we Goodbye old friend. Rest in peace. You will
many people have walked past it in the quarter could have given our old friend a proper funeral. be sadly missed.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Brussels Thwarts Government's
Effort to Halt Spread of Tree Disease
An article by Valerie Elliott published on www.telegraph.co.uk/
B
RUSSELS has blocked the UK from introducing tough new import controls to protect
oaks and other favourite trees and shrubs from a devastating plant disease. In April, the
government announced a ban on the import of coffee plants and myrtle leaf milkwort, a
popular indoor plant, and strict new rules on olive, rosemary, lavender, almond and oleander
which can carry Xylella fastidiosa, a disease that has wreaked havoc on the continent.
It has already wiped out olive cave in. Ministers, unable to insist on new stopped by the EU. It is ridiculous. I can’t believe
controls abroad, have decided therefore to the government is as impotent as this. We must
groves in southern Italy, but it can
increase surveillance here and inspect every try and overturn it. The threat to our trees is too
also attack 520 species of popular high risk imported plant. great.”
British plants. It would also force Lord Gardiner, Horticulture Minister, in a The disease spread by the common
the destruction of all plants within Parliamentary debate last week, said the froghopper - also known as spittlebug - has
government disagreed with the EU and the been found in France, Italy, Spain and Portugal
100 metres of an outbreak and
position was being kept under review. and in trade plants in Germany and Belgium.
would restrict trade within a 5km “The biosecurity threat from Xylella Only last week, infected plants were found
radius for a period of five years. fastidiosa remains and the reason for at the port of Castellan, Spain, which prompted
However, the EU has thwarted the Govern- introducing national measures has not Nicola Spence, the Government’s Chief Plant
ment efforts to keep the disease out, claiming changed.” Health Officer, to post on Twitter: “This is why
the new controls are disproportionate and However, the stand-off has infuriated Lord the EU needs stringent controls for Xylella.“
without scientific justification. Framlingham, a former Tory MP and She also posted a photograph of a lavender
The new row with Brussels has gone largely arboriculturist, who said: “It is quite outrageous plant on sale at Marks and Spencer in Beverley,
unnoticed during the pandemic but many in the for the EU Commission to bully us in this way. commenting: “Great to see British grown
horticulture world are furious after EU Health How dare they do this when we are about to lavender. Grown in Sussex no real need to
Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides ordered the leave them anyway? We are an island nation import Xylella.”
UK to repeal the new controls which she said and we need to take control of our imports. Dr Gerard Clover, Royal Horticultural
were in contravention of EU plant health “We wanted to take steps to protect our Society plant health adviser, said: “We
regulations. trees and plants but the government has been supported the Government’s wish to introduce
She informed the UK “these new new controls but while they are no longer
material measures go beyond the possible we would encourage gardeners
existing requirements and are not to source UK plants from UK nurseries.”
supported by the most recent scientific Once a plant is infected with the
justification and are disproportionate.” bacterium it prevents water travelling to
It is believed the EU stance follows roots and leaves, causing wilting and die
complaints from EU suppliers about the back.
tough new rules required by the UK. Prof Nicola Spence said: “We will
In particular the government had continue to thoroughly inspect plants
insisted that all Xylella host plants being which are imported to the UK and
exported to Britain could only be encourage the horticulture industry to
sourced from areas in a 200m radius remain vigilant to any risks.”
that had been free of the disease for at Defra confirmed that while the
least one year. government has retained the new import
Any plant exports to the UK should controls the tough measures to protect
also be certified that official tests had the country from Xylella cannot be
taken place to prove the disease free legally enforced.
status. However, from 1 January next year
The Department for Environment, the UK will introduce new regulations for
Food and Rural Affairs, while unhappy imports of plant and plant products from
about the decision, has been forced to the EU.
5
How Oak Trees Evolved to Rule the
Forests of the Northern Hemisphere
An article by Andrew L Hipp, Paul S Manos and Jeannine Cavender-Bares
published on www.scientificamerican.com
I
F you were dropped into virtually any region of North America 56 million years ago, you
probably would not recognize where you had landed. Back then, at the dawn of the Eocene
epoch, the earth was warmer and wetter than it is today. A sea had just closed up in the
middle of the Great Plains, and the Rocky Mountains had not yet attained their full height.
The continent's plant and animal For decades scientists could only speculate individuals, often appears to be as great as the
about much of the evolutionary history of oaks variation between species. Furthermore, oaks
communities were dramatically
because of gaps in their fossil record and hybridize commonly within their group, be it the
different. In the Canadian High limitations of the biomolecular techniques used white or red lineages or any of the six other
Arctic, which today harbours to infer evolutionary events from the DNA of major lineages of oaks worldwide. These two
relatively few tundra plant species, living organisms. However, recent advances in factors, high variation within species and
genome sequencing and analysis have allowed ongoing hybridization between species,
year-round temperatures above
us and our colleagues to reconstruct a detailed complicate classification.
freezing nurtured a rich and diverse picture of the origin, diversification and dispersal Hybridization can also make it difficult to
flora; Ellesmere Island in far of oaks. It is a remarkable evolutionary success reconstruct the evolutionary history of oaks
northern Canada, across from the story, one that will have important implications using traditional biomolecular techniques, which
for predicting how these essential trees will fare involve sequencing one or a few genes,
north-western coast of Greenland,
in the face of climate change and for developing because individual genes often trace different
was home to alligators and giant management plans to ensure their survival. histories. Moreover, a single oak species may
tortoises. The differences between major groups of have hybridized with numerous different
What is now the south-eastern US was oaks are readily apparent to even a casual species, so that different genes record different
dominated by tropical rain forest, complete with observer. In the Americas, oaks are dominated aspects of this history across the geographical
primates. The north-eastern US, for its part, by two evolutionary lineages that you may range of the species. The oak genome is thus a
ranged from broadleaved (as opposed to already know. One of these, the red oak group, mosaic shaped by speciation and hybridization.
needle-leaved) evergreen forest to deciduous is composed of species with bristle-tipped The sequences of only one or a few genes
forests of ginkgo, viburnum, birch and elm, leaves. In most red oak group species, pollen cannot reveal the full history of speciation in
among other species. The deciduous broad- takes a full year from the time it lands on the oaks.
leaved forests that now cover 11% of North female flower to fertilise the seed, so that Two decades ago researchers had only the
America north of Mexico were in their infancy, acorns, the fruits of these trees, pollinated in one sequences of DNA from chloroplasts, the cell
but that was about to change, with the spread year only ripen in the next. organelles that carry out photosynthesis, and a
and extraordinary diversification of what would Species in the other major lineage, the white few nuclear genes to go on. It was enough to
eventually become some of the most oak group, have no bristles on their leaves, and discern the overall branching structure of the
ecologically and economically significant woody the leaves generally contain more soil-enriching oak tree of life, but we could not see the
plants in the world: the acorn-bearing, wind- nutrients when they fall than those of red oaks arrangement of its endmost branches. In 2008
pollinated trees we call oaks. do. In addition, white oak acorns almost all ripen the three of us realised that new molecular
Over the course of some 56 million years, the same year they are pollinated, sometimes techniques we were already using to study
oaks, which all belong to the genus Quercus, germinating before they even fall. Grey squirrels hybridization and the limits of species in the red
evolved from a single undifferentiated preferentially cache red oak acorns to eat at a oak group might also enable us to infer oak
population into the roughly 435 species found later date because they are less likely than white evolutionary history.
today on five continents, ranging from Canada oak acorns to go bad before the squirrels can Since then, we, in collaboration with
to Colombia and from Norway to Borneo. Oaks get back to them. colleagues around the world, have employed an
are keystone species, foundational to the White oaks are also able to efficiently plug approach called restriction-site associated DNA
functioning of the forests they form across the the water-conducting, tube-like cells called sequencing to read short regions of DNA from
Northern Hemisphere. They foster diversity of vessels in their wood with tyloses, balloon-like across the genome. We analyse these data
organisms across the tree of life, from fungi to structures that seal the vessels as a barrier using statistical methods that reconstruct the
wasps, birds and mammals. They help clean the against deadly fungal diseases such as oak wilt. order in which species have branched from
air, sequestering carbon dioxide and absorbing Red oaks are slower and sloppy in their common ancestors and which ones have
atmospheric pollutants and they have shaped defence. Consequently, white oaks have long hybridized since that divergence. By marrying
human culture, feeding us with their acorns and served as wood for ships and wine barrels these analyses to fossil data, we can estimate
providing wood to build our homes, furniture and because the plugged vessels of the white oak the maximum ages of key events in oak evo-
ships. Indeed, oaks have proved so valuable to species hold water more effectively than those lutionary history. Despite the complex genetic
people that we have immortalised them in of the red oaks. Chewing insects recognize the history of oaks, we have been able to deduce
legends and myths for centuries. differences between red and white oaks, and much of the history of speciation in this group
Oaks are especially prominent in the most are adapted to favour either one or the going back to the root of the oak tree of life.
Americas. Approximately 60% of all Quercus other of these two groups. Even mycorrhizal We may never know precisely when or
species live here. This astounding variety, along fungi, which connect plant roots to soil nutrients, where the very first oaks arose, but roughly 56
with the fact that the oaks in this region account appear to recognize the differences between the million years ago a population of oaks growing
for more forest tree biomass than any other two types of oaks: many favour symbiotic near what is now Salzburg, Austria, left in the
woody plant genus in North America and relationships with species in one lineage over mud a bit of the massive amount of pollen they
Mexico, makes them the single most important the other. produced each spring. These pollen grains,
group of trees in the continent's forests. To When we get to the species level, however, which are shaped like a rugby ball with three
understand forests, then—their biodiversity, closely related oaks are often difficult to tell grooves running lengthwise and with surface
food webs and contributions to human well- apart. The variation within species, the result of textures that vary by lineage, are the earliest
being—one must understand how oaks came to both plastic responses of the trees to their unambiguous fossil evidence of oaks on record.
rule them. environment and genetic variation between Throughout the early Eocene, land bridges
6
spanning the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans lineage on the western side of the Rocky As white and red oaks had already
connected North America and Eurasia. Plants Mountains that gave rise to the modern-day separated from each other by the time they
and animals freely crossed between the two oaks of California and the Pacific North-West started moving south, this diversification history
continents. Oaks were most likely part of a vast and into a lineage on the eastern side of the happened in parallel in both the red and white
forest that spread across the continents of North Rockies that gave rise to the oaks of eastern oaks. Two distinct but very closely related
America, Europe and Asia. This makes it difficult North America. Within the latter region, each of lineages, not one, traced the biogeographical
to say with any confidence whether oaks these major oak groups subdivided into a history we just described: moving south, splitting
originated in Eurasia and sent a branch off to the predominantly north-eastern lineage, a around the Rocky Mountains, heading into
Americas, or vice versa. The better answer to predominantly south-eastern lineage and a Mexico from an eastern North American
where modern oaks arose may simply be “in the primarily Texan lineage. From eastern North ancestor. This history may explain part of the
north.” America, perhaps by way of Texas, the red and species richness and abundance of oaks in the
In any case, remarkably soon after they white oaks then moved into Mexico between 10 Americas. They essentially double-dipped as
arose, oaks started to separate into two major million and 20 million years ago. they ventured south.
branches: one limited to Europe, Asia and North In all these areas, palms and broad-leaved One of the most exciting areas of our
Africa and the other largely limited to the evergreen trees had been pushed south or research has been the integration of a genome-
Americas. The separation between continents driven partially or wholly extinct by the cooling level understanding of the oak tree of life with
was imperfect at first. For example, the oldest and increasingly fluctuating climate. The result- physiological studies of oak adaptation to
fossil attributable to the ring-cupped oaks, ing abundance of open habitat enabled oaks to climate and habitat and community studies of
based on the concentric rings formed by the diversify. Increased ecological opportunity oak forest structure. As oaks spread south and
woody scales on its acorn cap, was deposited in allowed oaks to undergo an adaptive radiation, diversified in different regions, the white and the
Oregon around 48 million years ago. Today this in which nascent species rapidly fill spaces that red oaks encountered similar habitats and
lineage is restricted to Southeast Asia. other species are not occupying. In doing so, repeatedly solved the same ecological problems
Furthermore, red oaks, which today are an these young populations became more eco- in novel ways.
American group, have been reported from fossil logically distinct from one another, thereby As a result, we often find red and white oaks
sites in Europe dating to some 35 million years limiting the movement of genes between them. growing together in the same habitats. For
ago, but when global temperatures started their They became reproductively isolated, so that example, on poor rocky soils and bluffs in east-
long descent about 52 million years ago, oaks genes moved less between separated populat- ern USA, you can find the white oak Quercus
were gradually pushed southward, away from ions than among trees within populations. stellata, also known as the post oak, growing
the land bridges that have connected Eurasia Subsequently, new genetic mutations and re- next to the red oak Quercus marilandica,
and North America intermittently over the past arrangements could accumulate distinguishing commonly called the blackjack oak. In the
50 million years. As cooling drove northern oak the populations from one another. Through this mountains of southern Arizona, the iconic white
populations extinct, the divisions between the process, they became new species. oak Quercus arizonica often grows beside the
two continents became very clean, with no This adaptive radiation played out most red oak Quercus emoryi.
species from the Eurasian clade showing up in dramatically in Mexico and Central America, This pattern of oak co-occurrence is found
the Americas and only two branches of the where about 40% of all the world's oaks reside. in wooded plant communities across much of
American clade showing up in Eurasia. Recall that oaks were a largely cold-adapted the country, and it has another intriguing
Before they could be pushed too far to the lineage that spread across the continent as feature. Whereas distantly related oaks tend to
south, oaks were further sub-divided into the temperatures dropped and seasonality grow together, closely related oaks within
eight major lineages we recognize in modern increased. As they migrated south into Mexico, lineages tend not to be found together. Along an
forests. Three of them are restricted to the oaks climbed to higher elevations that more elevational gradient in the Chiricahua Mountains
Americas: the red, golden cup and southern live closely resembled the temperate biome in which of southern Arizona, for example, white oak
oaks. One lineage that of the white oaks, they had evolved, and they encountered high species pass the baton as you walk upslope,
originated and diversified in the Americas but topographic variation that readily separated transitioning broadly from one to the next as you
sent an offshoot back to Eurasia. them into reproductively isolated populations. hike uphill, and red oak species do as well. In
We know these major lineages arose early Oaks also evolved more rapidly along the the lowlands of Florida, white oak species
in oak evolution because one of the oldest continuum from low water availability to high separate across the sandhill, scrub and ravine
American oak fossils is a 45-million-year-old water availability as they moved into Mexico. habitats shaped by karst topography and fire.
white oak from Axel Heiberg Island in Nunavut, Tacking up and down the mountains, different Red oaks do the same.
Canada that can be distinguished from the red populations adapted to different levels of What shapes this pattern of oak co-
oaks and all other major lineages of oaks. drought. This ecological differentiation most occurrence? Ecological differentiation within the
However, fossils from this initial phase of likely worked hand in hand with increased red and white oaks is influenced in part by the
diversification are hard to assign to any one physical separation to promote reproductive fact that no single species is able to master
lineage, so we rely on molecular data to isolation between populations. every habitat. Instead species tend to specialize
estimate when the other oaks separated into Thus, the reason for the high oak diversity on a limited part of the available ecological
independent lineages. The integration of in Mexico appears not to be warmer space. In oaks, physiological trade-offs within
molecular data with selected fossils indicates temperatures and because Mexican oaks are each lineage sub-divide habitat and climatic
that the world's eight lineages split early on. It is relatively young, their high diversity has not space so that close relatives are less likely to co-
an important part of the story because it explains accrued over comparatively long periods of occur. In the Chiricahua Mountains, for
what happened next as the North American evolutionary time. Rather adaptive radiation led instance, drought adaptation separates close
oaks underwent their own burst of to higher speciation rates in these evolutionarily relatives along the elevation gradient. Species
diversification. young Mexican oaks as they moved into the living near the bottom of the mountain are
As temperatures cooled worldwide, the mountains. This change suggests that if oaks particularly good at avoiding drought, dropping
North American climate also became more had been suited to climb into the Rockies and their leaves during dry seasons. Species living
seasonal. The Rocky Mountains were continu- flourish there (ie if they could have survived the at higher elevation, where there is more overall
ing to rise, and their rain shadow dried out the combination of short growing seasons and cold moisture, focus on surviving daily fluctuations in
Great Plains. The tropical forests and broad- winters of the northern mountains) they might water availability by allowing leaf water content
leaved evergreen forests that had flourished have developed high diversity in this region as to drop lower before they suffer damage.
across North America were gradually restricted well. Their evolutionary heritage simply did not In contrast, in Florida, which is comparative-
in range and driven to extinction by around 40 equip them for these extremely harsh environ- ly flat, soil moisture availability and fire intensity
million years ago. Oak pollen and leaf impress- ments. Only a lone white oak species, the structure oak communities. Closely related
ions became more common in the North Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), even comes species in these communities show trade-offs
American fossil record 35 million years ago, by close, and that species is limited to the southern between growth rate and drought tolerance
which time decreased temperatures and Rockies. along moisture gradients and between bark
increased seasonality had converted North The oaks were finally stopped in their march thickness and the ability to reproduce via
America north of Mexico from a mostly tropical southward, perhaps by dramatic reduction in underground stems along gradients of fire
to a mostly temperate continental landscape. As seasonality or strong competition from tropical intensity. In both regions, and indeed across the
climate change extirpated tropical forests from forest species, only barely making it across the country, parallel trade-offs are found in both red
North America, ecological opportunity arose for Isthmus of Panama into the north of South and white oaks, and trees with convergent traits
the oaks. America. Yet this is not the whole story. The from the two lineages tend to grow together.
The red and white oaks moved south into oaks' southward journey actually played out Members of different lineages may co-exist
this newly opened territory, each splitting into a twice, simultaneously and in the same places. well with one another in each habitat because
7
they differ in their susceptibility to disease: know that after genes move from one species species appears to have been key to their rapid
proximity to a more distantly related neighbour into the other, they can move beyond the range response. The insights we can gain from
may be less likely to result in an epidemic of the species in which they arose, apparently elucidating the adaptive benefits of gene flow
because red and white oaks tend not to spread propelled by environmental selection. These are critical to predicting how resilient oaks may
the same diseases. There is even evidence that examples suggest that adaptive gene flow may be as climate change exposes them to fungal
oaks help one another get established and play an important role in oak evolution. We are and insect diseases with which they did not
persist by creating a soil environment that on the cusp of the integrative genomic and evolve.
benefits the mycorrhizal fungi they need to ecological studies needed to understand this As insects that transport pathogenic fungi
acquire nutrients. Then, once a forest has process in depth. increase their ranges and change their patterns
become established, oaks become dominant We would still like to know what genes and of reproduction with earlier springs, oaks may
and prevent other kinds of trees from setting up attribute (ie flowering time, habitat preference have trouble holding their ground unless they
shop. Our work makes clear that the and geographical distance) drive speciation in can evolve quickly enough to resist diseases
evolutionary origins of oaks shape the complex oaks and whether ecological differences evolve they have never before encountered. Our
ecological interactions that help to explain why while populations are growing together or only challenge for the coming decade as plant
the trees are so abundant and diverse in North when they are separated. We are close to biodiversity scientists will be to figure out how
America. The tree of life casts its shadow across understanding what genes shape differentiation. differentiation between species and movement
the structure of our oak forests. Recent work in European oaks shows that of genes between those species will influence
Now that we can delineate the branching genes influencing both their ability to cross- the trajectory of oak evolution and population
history of the oak tree of life in some detail, the pollinate and their ecological preferences (for persistence. If we understand these processes
trees' propensity to hybridize has become all the instance, tolerance of drought, cold and well enough, we stand a chance of using that
more interesting. People often think of disease) are involved in species differentiation. knowledge to predict what our forests will look
hybridization as a destructive force, eroding Yet these findings only tell us that ecological like a century or more from now. Perhaps it can
genetic differences between species. Yet oaks differences evolve in species, not that they drive guide our plans to manage longer-term survival
form what is called a syngameon, in which species differences. Statistical analyses that of the vital oaks.
ecologically and physically distinctive species simulate alternative speciation histories suggest
persist in spite of ongoing gene flow. It has long that in a group of four widespread European Andrew L Hipp is a senior scientist and
been hypothesized that genes migrating white oaks that hybridize today, the genomic herbarium director at the Morton Arboretum in
between species of the syngameon might help differences between the species arose when the Lisle, Ill. His research addresses the evolution,
oaks adapt to novel environments. Could, for species were born in different geographical maintenance and implications of plant diversity,
example, genes that contribute to drought areas, with opportunities for gene flow arising with a focus on the phylogenomics of oaks.
adaptation in the post oak migrate into the bur only after the fully formed species migrated back Paul S Manos is a professor at Duke
oak (Quercus macrocarpa) in the southern into contact with each other. Still, the high University. He studies the systematics and
regions, where they co-occur, and help the bur degree of species co-occurrence in the biogeography of the flowering plants, with a
oak adapt to the drying conditions it is expected American oaks raises the question of whether particular focus on the evolution of oaks,
to encounter under global warming? hybridization contributed to their diversity. hickories and walnuts.
We know already that there is localised A firm grasp of when, where and how oaks Jeannine Cavender-Bares is a professor
gene flow between oak species and that species came to be so diverse is crucial to understand- at the University of Minnesota. She studies the
differ in what genes they exchange depending ing how oaks will resist and adapt to rapidly origins, physiological function, and organisation
on where on the landscape they are, what changing environments. Oaks migrated rapidly of plant biodiversity and their consequences,
species they co-occur with, and the climate and as continental glaciers receded starting around with an emphasis on oaks.
habitat in which the trees are growing. We also 20,000 years ago, and hybridization between
Aangel oak, a southern live oak located on Johns Island, S C, is an estimated 400 to 500 years old. Credit: Dawna Moore Alamy
8
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